Love Has Nothing To Do With It
by donutlad
Summary: Princess Rachael Roth, the betrothed princess of the kingdom of Ararath, and Garfield Logan, her guardian are journeying to Jump City where her Prince Charming awaits. But will the eleven day journey bring the two unlikely friends closer than they dreamed
1. Betrothed!

Quick Author's note: Hello! This is DonutLad here, and I really want you to know that I am a huge BB/Rae fan and I always will be, so, if you don't like this pairing, TO BAD! Anyways, I really don't know where I got this idea. I'm really into fairy tales for no apparent reason, plus my BB/Rae half obsession (I don't like saying I'm obsessed w/ stuff, so,). I'm guessing this story came around when I was thinking. It's been in my brain for weeks now, screaming to get out, but I've been super busy studying for tests and stuff. Now finally, HERE IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please comment, rate, and criticize. Well, unless your gonna say that you hate BB/Rae, cause if you do, why'd ya even click on this? Anyways, enjoy!

Almost forgot the disclaimer! I do not own the Teen Titans. They belong to WB, CN, and DC.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She repeated the words calmly, floating in midair, eyes closed. She was meditating as always. Concentrating on nothing but those three words could send her to places unknown to anyone around her. She meditated to control her emotions. Concealing them would make it easier to control her powers. She was less dangerous this way. But that also meant solitude. She could spend weeks locked away in her room with no food and no company. When she wasn't meditating, she was reading. When she wasn't reading, she was meditating. She didn't seem to notice that this was strange behavior, however. It didn't occur to her that it was abnormal. This is what made princess Rachael Roth special.

"Rachael." A voice like honey interrupted her solitude and she let out a yelp as she fell to the floor, landing on her butt. "OWW!" The young princess's door opened slightly, revealing an orange skinned, green eyed girl about her age. Her hair was waist length and bright orange. She had an assortment of hair clips from puppies to flower petals almost completely covering every square inch of her thick hair. Her purple football jersey dropped down past her knees, but she still felt the need to wear blue sweats and black and white striped knee socks. This was Princess Koriand'r from the distant kingdom Tameran. She was shrill and girly, but Rachael had grown to liking her. "Rachael, have I disturbed you?" Standing and stretching, the young girl stared at her friend with a small smirk. "No, not at all." Her voice was monotonous. Kori looked hurt. "I……I'm sorry friend." Rachael sighed. This was what she had to deal with every time she was awoken from her meditation session. She shook her head and rolled her eyes in a teasing manor. "Kori, it's okay. And didn't I tell you to call me Raven?" Raven was the nickname given to her by her mother. Her mother had been a beautiful woman. She had long, sleek black hair and sparkling purple eyes. She was kind and caring and she really didn't care that her daughter was different. She had started calling her daughter her "little Raven" due to the connection she had to the ravens surrounding the castle, and also partly due to her raven black hair. The mother/daughter duo had such fun together. That is, until recently. Her mother had died of a rare heart virus a few years earlier. Raven didn't like to remember her mother. It brought back too many memories. But the name stuck.

The young spunky teenage princess seemed to brighten at her friend's remark. "I have been sent by your father. He wishes to see you presently." Raven cringed. She hated her father. She always had. He had eyes like icy steel. They were cold and hard and full of hatred and disdain. He was always furious with someone, for one reason or another, and he wanted total control of all the kingdoms in the region. The man who called himself her father filled her with fury. With fury came explosions. Many explosions. Raven couldn't afford to make any trouble in the castle. She was still in trouble for the last time she had gotten angry. No, she decided. She wasn't going to see him. He could live without her. "I'm not going to see him." "Oh, but friend Raven, you must! Your father seemed particularly happy, if you will. Not seeing him might make terrible consequences for the boy of green skin who is to protect you." Raven thought about what Kori had said. Her father was happy. Not a good sign. When he was happy it meant he was scheming. This was not good. And why had Kori drug happy-go-lucky Garfield into this?

Garfield Logan was the funny, immature spirited jokester who was hired to protect the princess at all costs. He had green skin, shaggy green hair, and green eyes shining with mischief. He never did anything to hurt anybody, but there he was doing his best to please King Trigon. If the king was displeased, well, Gar was in for it. Raven didn't like him, but she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something was to happen to him on her account. "Alright, I'll go." She allowed the cheerful Tameranian princess to take her hand and lead her out the door and into the dark corridors of the castle.

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!?" King Trigon's booming voice pounded against the green skinned changeling's ear drums. A worried expression was washing over him. What if the princess didn't come? What if she didn't care about what her father had to say? What if she didn't care if he got chopped into bits by her father? Perspiration dripping off of his face like rain in a rainforest, all Gar could think to say was, "Um…………………………………….." Trigon seemed to be growing taller and he looked angrier than he had been just a few seconds ago. "IF SHE DOES NOT ARRIVE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES DO YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN?" Gar shuttered just thinking about what the demon king could do to him if he got the chance. He was too young to loose all of his hair or worse, all his limbs. Minutes passed and no one came in the room other than the passing servants doing their best not to get smothered by the furious king. Trigon was beginning to loose his patients and Gar closed his eyes and stood motionless, expecting the worse. When nothing came, he opened his eyes and a sigh of relief escaped from his lips. The princess had pulled though for him. "Thank you Kori. You may leave now." The Tameranian was dismissed from the room and Garfield realized that he was alone with the princess and her father. He took a good look at Rachael. This was the first time he'd seen her in a couple of weeks. He had never noticed before, but he saw something in this girl that was beautiful. Maybe it was her shoulder length, raven black hair. Maybe it was her distant pale purple/grey eyes. Maybe it was the way she stood before the beast that was her father with no flinch what-so-ever, not a scared look even threatening to cross her face. Garfield didn't know what it was, but he loved it. His gaze averted from the young girl though, feeling her father's cold glare piercing his soul. He stood up straight and stared into space pretending not to hear the conversation, but he couldn't help but listen in. "Daughter, I have good news for you." "What, you've finally decided to step down from the throne so no one has to see you're ugly face again?" Rachael's voice didn't sound hopeful, or even monotonious at that, but Gar had to hold back a laugh. She was one brave girl to talk to Trigon the Terrible like that. The king grunted. "Nothing like that dear daughter." He said the dear daughter through gritted teeth. Keeping his cool was not something that the king did, but if he lost his temper now, his plan would be ruined. "Well what then? I don't have all day." Garfield's body was covered in sweat. What was she doing? Did she want to sign her death warrant? "SHADDUP GIRL! You are to be escorted by Garfield and Princess Kori to the nearby kingdom of Jump City where you will be wed to Prince Robin. It will be a dangerous eleven day trek through every type of terrain you could possibly think of. It is unclear what destiny will throw at you which is why I am sending both your guardian and your companion. With your combined powers you will arrive in no time. If you are to refuse I will have no choice but to send this boy to the darkest dimensions of Hell and beyond. Are we clear?" Looking over her shoulder, she made eye contact with her protector for the first time in a long while. His eyes were full of terror. She wouldn't be able to bear seeing a soul such as his to be sent to the dreaded place. She turned back to her father and nodded, looking down at her feet. "Yes sir." It looked as though a heavy burden had been lifted from poor Gar's shoulders. Trigon smirked evilly. "Excellent. You shall depart at dawn."

Marriage. The thought of betrothal swept through her mind, bouncing off of every though, crawling into the deepest cresses of her inner mind. She rolled over on her bed until she felt like she was about to fall off. She had agreed. Why did she care what happened to the little green freak that had been her personal slave since she could remember? Did he really mean that much to her? No, this wasn't important. What mattered was the fact that she had only a few measly days left of freedom. She was to be wed to a prince she had never met. She didn't have to feel anything for him. No, that would only end in disaster. Feelings of romance would lead to more than just exploding. Her soul self could be set free from her body, free to roam the earth and never return. It could easily be captured by someone with evil intentions and used to set free the vilest and retched of beasts. No, love was not an option. But she still had to spend the rest of her life with him. That wasn't an option either. Maybe she could get out of it. Maybe she could talk her father out of it. Yes, perhaps she could. But then Garfield would be punished. This wasn't an option. Did she have feelings for him? Feelings of disgust, yes. But she still couldn't bear it if she was the cause of his suffering. The only thing to do was marry the prince. Her eyes were getting watery. Hot tears of anger or cold tears of depression, she couldn't tell. She brushed them away impatiently before the demons inside her could let loose anything terrible. She fell asleep cold and bitter. Not even meditation and solitude could save her now.

Marriage. Garfield lay awake thinking about the betrothal of the princess, his princess, and some unknown prince. She didn't know this boy and he didn't know her. This Prince Robin wouldn't be able to understand her solitude. He wouldn't understand her need to meditate to conceal all emotions. No one understood the princess, his princess, like he did. Did he have feelings for her? No, he didn't have feelings for her, but he sure had strong feelings against the fact of her getting married. There was one way to stop it. Death. His death. He wouldn't last down there. She had accepted to save his life. There must be another way to save her. Gar thought all night, not falling asleep. He needed a plan to save his princess.

The carriage was packed with all of the trunks the trio would need for the journey. There was no need for a horse, the changeling had that covered. The two princesses sat in silence as they were waved off by the castle slaves. They both basked in the sadness that should've just been Raven's. They refused to make eye contact in fear of bursting into tears. Raven didn't want to go through with this, Kori could see this. She wanted to make her gloomy friend happy, but she just didn't know how. The only comfort either of them had was the _Clippity clop_ of Gar's hooves hitting the ground softly. The gravel terrain was bumpy and the girls were thrown in every direction. If this was kept up, they both might have head traumas from hitting the roof of the carriage so many times by the time they arrived in Jump City. Raven wanted to make a sarcastic remark about Garfield's reckless driving, but the words wouldn't come out. She was afraid that if she spoke she would start to cry again. She couldn't let that happen. Tears were for the weak. She refused to be weak. It was only marriage. It was probably to work out a peace treaty between the kingdoms. It was best. Still, since when had her father known what was best for the kingdom? Knowing this fact, there was always a hint of doubt.

Okay, next chapter: As the trio starts out on their journey, they come across a small town just on the outskirts of the kingdom of Azarath. There, they meet a young blacksmith who has problems of his own. Will this mind controlling villain be too much for two princesses, a changeling, and a blacksmith to handle?


	2. Chivalry, Cyborgs, and some Brainwashing

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. They belong to WB, CN, and DC.

"Have we yet arrived?" a bored to death Kori called out to the changeling driving the carriage. "No Kori, we're not there yet." The Tameranian let out a small sigh and propped her feet up in the seat in front of her. She tried to close her eyes to take a nap, but her gaze always drifted to the annoyed looking Raven who was quietly reading a book. Her friend had been betrothed to a prince none of them knew and this was all she could think about. And try as she might, she couldn't cheer her up. "Have we arrived now?" Kori was hopeful this time, but once again the response was the same. "No Kori, not yet. We've only been traveling for a couple of hours." "Oh." Garfield could feel the depression of the young princess and took a deep breath. "I'll tell you what though; I'll pull over at the next town and, we'll rent a hotel room for the night. How's that sound?" Kori, brightened up as she was, gave Princess Raven a big bear hug. "UG……..Kori………let go…………." Coughed up a breathless Raven. "Oh, my sincerest apologies friend Raven! But what do you think? Shall we let Garfield pull over and spend a night in a town? Would that not be just marvelous?!" Kori's eyes were sparkling like nighttime stars. Raven just couldn't refuse. "Sure, whatever. Just as long as it takes us all the longer to get to Jump City." Raven had decided to try and accept her marriage. She would try to postpone it as long as possible, but accept it all the same. No harm would come to anyone and her emotional boundaries would remain uncrossed. Yes, this was the best thing to do. It made sense and it was simple. She placed her book in her black purse and zipped it shut. No use reading when she couldn't keep her concentration for more than a couple of minutes. Looking out the window, Raven watched the dense forest pass by her in a blur of green and brown. Her father had told them that there would be obstacles in their way. What had he meant by this? The only other living creature in the forest was the occasional bunny or deer that would scamper by in a hurry. They probably saw the green horse and got scared to death. Raven couldn't blame them. It was sort of disturbing to see a green skinned creature for the first time. Surely this would scare anyone or anything off. Raven's mind was beginning to drift off when suddenly,

"FRIEND RAVEN! WE HAVE ARRIVED! WE HAVE ARRIVED IN A LITTLE TOWN JUST OUTSIDE OF YOUR KINGDOM! IS THIS NOT MOST GLORIOUS?!" Kori's voice was so loud it probably caused an avalanche to happen somewhere thousands of miles away. Raven shot a glare at her friend and rubbed her ears. They were pounding and it felt as if she had just been standing in front of the loudest stereo system ever made. This was the way Kori talked and she should've been used to it by now, but it still irritated her. "Could you be a little louder Kori? I can still hear." The orange skinned princess's cheeks turned a bright pink color and she rubbed the back of her neck. "Please, I am sorry Raven. I was merely excited that we may all take a rest now and…………" her voice trailed off as the carriage stopped. The doors opened and Garfield was standing there, human again, offering her his hand. "Madam." Raven rolled her eyes and accepted his hand. As she stepped down from the carriage, she looked him straight in the eyes. She saw a look of concern mixed in with the smugness that always seemed to be plastered on his face. His usually scheming green eyes seemed sincere and his broad, happy grin had been replaced by a soft smile. Could he truly be trying to be kind? Of course not. He just wanted to try to make the girls think better of him. It was one of his little pranks or schemes. She pulled her hand away quickly and pulled the hood of her grey jacket over her face to hide her blush. "Thanks." Garfield didn't offer his hand for Kori. Instead, he tried his best to keep up with his princess. "Hey, Princess Rachael! Wait up!" She didn't stop walking, but called out over her shoulder, "I prefer to be called Raven!" Garfield stopped walking and watched the princess walked. A beautiful aura surrounded her, but he knew he shouldn't be thinking this. One word came to his mind as he though about her. Taken. There was no use for him to try to talk to her, yet he needed to know she didn't hate him at least. Kori's voice penetrated his thoughts. "Friend Garfield, the princess can be, well, anti-social at best. But to not give up. Getting to knowing her is hard. It will not happen in a day. Now, where is the hotel of which you spoke of earlier?"

The hotel they were to stay the night in was dirty, smelly, and filled with noisy kids. It was booked to the point of actually kicking some of the guests out, but Garfield was able to work things out. He was able to convince the manager to let the princesses and himself stay with his son. "But be careful. Don't push him the wrong way. He's not the best with guests." _Sure, whatever that means. _Garfield thought as he led the princesses out the door and down the street as the manager had instructed. _Okay, we're looking for a blacksmith. Right, well, that could be anyone. Something special about him. That's what the manager said. What's that supposed to mean? Everyone's special. That narrows it down to every blacksmith in the area! _"Garfield." The soft, soothing voice burst through his ears. This was a voice not heard often. "Huh?" He looked over at the pale princess who was lugging all the luggage (using her telepathic powers of course). She had stopped in mid step, looking down at the street like she'd lost something. "Yeah, what's up Raven?" The young princess licked her lips and started, "Well, I kinda wanted to say, thanks for getting us out of staying in that garbage can some people call a hotel. I don't think Kori and I could've lasted there." This was a shock. Princess Raven, the girl who could stand up to her demon of a father without even a wince, was thanking someone. And what was even more of a shock was who she was thanking. "Uh, yeah. No prob. Chivalry ain't dead yet." This made Kori giggle. A bit of a smile crept up on Raven's face, but she continued walking so no one would get a chance to see it. They didn't get very far before they were stopped. "Hey! You three!" The trio turned to see a black Cyborg with a mallet in his hand. A blacksmith's mallet. Was this……..? "My dad said some travelers were coming, important ones. He said they looked like a weird bunch, like they didn't belong with each other. You wouldn't happen to be them?" His eyes had a sort of impatience to them. Well, his one human eye that is. His cybertronic eye was glowing bright red, a sign that he was functioning just fine. "Well, I, um, I guess. Yeah. I'm Garfield. These two lovely ladies are Princesses Rachael Roth of Azarath and Koriand'r of Tameran. You are……." Garfield's sparkling green eyes looked hopefully at the Cyborg, but he turned away, looking disgusted. "Look, I got better things to do than hang around with some princesses and their lackey. You're welcome ta stay for a day. That's it. And if ya see anything funny, well, don't come crying to me." The robot man began to walk away. The companions gave each other puzzled looks and decided to follow. He led them through his workshop which was full of unfinished projects. All but one. The only project the blacksmith finished was a souped up blue and white car with anything and everything imaginable. Garfield stared at the car with awe, but was pulled away with a now frustrated Raven. Passing the workshop, the cyber man led them into a room with two beds. "Ya can stay here, but leave first thing in the morning. If ya don't, well, don't say I didn't warn ya."

All night, Raven couldn't stop thinking about what the Cyborg had said. _Don't say I didn't warn ya._ Was this one of the obstacles her father had mentioned? What could be hidden in this little town that could be so harmful? Raven didn't get any sleep that night, or at least, she wouldn't have if it wasn't for the fact that she was so damn tired.

Kori was kept awake that night, knowing that in the same bed, Raven couldn't sleep either. What was troubling her? Why wouldn't she share her troubles? Why were things so different for the two of them? These questions buzzing in her head, Kori drifted to sleep.

_She thanked me. She thanked me. _All night long, it was these words that kept Garfield awake for the second night in a row. She actually liked him. Well, in her own way she did. He could build on this. _Maybe, if it wasn't for her betrothal,_ he drifted off into a deep sleep before his thought was complete.

Raven woke up and stretched out her sore muscles. It felt like she had been sleeping for hours. She looked around and realized she wasn't in her room. She was in the blacksmith's house. Where were Kori and Garfield? "Guys?" No one answered her. She stood up and walked toward the door. The knob was freezing cold. She turned it and as she opened it, it squeaked loudly. The blacksmith was standing in the doorway. "You finally awake? Your friends are acting funny. Get in here." She followed the Cyborg through his workshop and to a back door that led into the kitchen. And there, sitting at TV trays in front of a small, black and white TV, were Garfield and Kori. "What the………….?" What seemed like hundreds of pancakes were piled high on each of their plates and their eyes were glowing pink and syrup covered their lips. "Raven. Come. Eat. Mother made them." Garfield looked flirtatiously at the young empath and it scared her. She suddenly remembered she hadn't put her robe on. Or her clothes. She was still in her pajamas. She blushed furiously, but Garfield didn't seem to be staring at her. He immediately turned back to his pancakes. "Mother? Does your mom live here?" Raven asked the Cyborg. "No. They're talking about an evil mind controller. She's taken over this town. They call her 'Mother May I'. She has everyone but you and me caught under her control." Her eyes bugged out of her head. An obstacle. An evil force wrecking havoc. She should've just left. She could've found a horse or borrowed the Cyborg's car, but then she would be leaving her friends behind. Her friends? No, her companions. Acquaintances if you will. But not friends. Either way, she couldn't leave them behind. "Okay, how can I help?"

Author's note: Well, chapter two people. I wanted to get through all of "Day one" as I call it, but for one thing, technically we've just started on day two, and another thing, I kind of like leaving people with cliff hangers. Well, this one isn't really what I'd call a cliff hanger, but still, I don't have time to finish it so I might as well leave off here. And have you guessed who the "blacksmith" is yet? If you haven't, well, are you sure you know your Teen Titans?

Next Chapter: Mother May I has control over Garfield and Kori. Can the blacksmith and Raven join forces to find out what's causing the brainwashing, or better yet, defeat her altogether?


	3. Update

Dear readers, I am having a case of writer's block right now. I can't really think straight. I know what you are thinking: its summer time. Isn't there plenty of time for you to update? Well, although I agree with you guys fully, please bear with me while I try to think up some more ideas. I know, I'm two chapters in and I'm already failing. Well, I'm thinking ahead of myself right now. I'm trying to decide where the ending of the story is headed because thinking up the ending of my stories always helps me decide how I am going to get there. I promise that if I don't update this story within the next year I will see if my good friend Lou4506 will take over for me. But I doubt that would have to happen. In the meantime while you wait for my next update, I will be posting various, short songfics that I hope you will enjoy. I will take requests for songs and characters/couples that you want me to write. I hope this will satisfy you guys for a while. And please, if I am doing anything wrong in this story, please tell me now so I can fix it right away because it is early on in the story and I will have a harder time fixing it if you wait until the very end. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to let me know because I am here for you guys. Thank you for your time.

Signed,

Your friendly neighborhood nobody


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